‏ Genesis 37

37:1  ^a In ch 36  ^b, Esau was well on his way to power and prosperity; by contrast, Jacob, still waiting for the promise, settled in the land as a foreigner, like his father. He was still a temporary resident with a single family. Worldly greatness often comes more swiftly than spiritual greatness. Waiting for the promised spiritual blessing while others prosper is a test of patience, faith, and perseverance.
Summary for Gen 37:2: 37:2–50:26  ^c The story of Joseph and his brothers comprises a separate unit in Genesis, distinct in tone and emphasis from the preceding material. It traces one continuous series of episodes with Joseph at their center.

• Cycles of repeated motifs structure the entire Joseph account. The themes are closely related to those found in wisdom books such as Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Daniel. Wisdom literature assures the faithful that God brings good out of evil and joy out of pain—if not in this life, then certainly in the life to come. Though the wicked may prosper for a time, the righteous should hold fast to their integrity because a higher, more enduring principle of life is realized through obedience to God. Everyone who aspires to leadership in God’s plan should observe how wisdom led to Joseph’s success. Christ Jesus embodied the life of wisdom portrayed here as no one else could, for he is the wisdom of God.

• Judah is also an important character in the story. He began as irresponsible and mean-spirited as his brothers; but he truly repented, put his life on the line to ransom a child for his father, and received a very important inheritance. 37:2  ^d The account of Jacob and his family tells of Joseph and his brothers. Jacob is still prominent, but the focus is on Joseph, who is introduced as an obedient seventeen-year-old son.

• Joseph reported ... the bad things his brothers were doing: Bringing a bad report has never been popular, but it was the right thing to do and shows that Joseph was faithful from the beginning. As the story progresses, we see more of his brothers’ wickedness displayed until, like Cain, they tried to eliminate the brother who pleased God.
37:3  ^e Jacob: Hebrew Israel; also in 37:13  ^f.

• Jacob loved Joseph more because Joseph had been born to him in his old age and because he was the first son of his favorite wife, Rachel.

• Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful robe to demonstrate that he intended to grant him the largest portion of the inheritance.
37:4  ^g Jacob’s favoritism toward Joseph inflamed his other sons’ hatred of their brother. Just as Isaac’s and Rebekah’s favoritism had separated their family, Jacob’s favoritism would separate him from his son Joseph.
Summary for Gen 37:5-11: 37:5-11  ^h God confirmed his choice of this faithful son as the eventual leader of the whole family through two symbolic dreams. This is the first of three dream sequences in chs 37–50  ⁱ (see 40:1–41:36  ^j; cp. 15:13  ^k; 20:3  ^l; 28:12-15  ^m; 31:24  ⁿ). Dreams carried weight as a form of divine communication, especially if the dream revelation was given twice.
37:7  ^o The bundles of grain hint at how Joseph’s authority over his family would be achieved (see 42:1-3  ^p).
37:8  ^q The brothers’ angry response to the revelation, in contrast to Joseph’s honesty and faithfulness, clearly demonstrates why they were not chosen for leadership: Leaders in God’s plan cannot be consumed with jealousy and hatred. In their anger, they missed an important part of the revelation—they too would be rulers (stars, 37:9  ^r) who would productively bind their sheaves (37:7  ^s).
37:9  ^t The sun, moon, and eleven stars: Astrological symbols often represent rulers. The dream predicted Joseph’s elevation to a position of authority over the whole clan of Israel.
37:10  ^u your mother and I: Joseph’s birth mother, Rachel, was dead (35:19  ^v). Leah was now the matriarch of the clan.
37:11  ^w His brothers hated Joseph because they were jealous of him. Rather than recognize the hand of God, the brothers tried to prevent the dream from being fulfilled (37:18-36  ^x). These actions show that they were not fit to lead the household of faith. God’s sovereign choice of a leader, especially if the one chosen is young or appears unqualified, often brings out the true colors of those who have to submit to that leader’s authority. The brothers represent people throughout history who have been driven by envy and malice because they were not committed to doing the Lord’s will.

• Jacob wondered what the dreams meant because he knew that God would choose the next leader, that God could choose the younger son to rule over the older sons, and that God could reveal all this in dreams.
Summary for Gen 37:12-13: 37:12-13  ^y It was foolish for Jacob to send Joseph on such a mission, knowing how the brothers felt about him. Joseph obeyed his father by going to find his brothers despite their hatred for him.
Summary for Gen 37:14-17: 37:14-17  ^z The brothers ranged far and wide. Shechem was about fifty miles from Hebron, and Dothan another fifteen miles beyond Shechem.
Summary for Gen 37:18-20: 37:18-20  ^aa When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they devised a plot to kill ... the dreamer and end his dreams. Earlier, they had unjustly killed the men of Shechem to avenge their sister (ch 34  ^ab); in the region of Shechem, they now plotted to unjustly kill their own brother out of envy.
Summary for Gen 37:21-24: 37:21-24  ^ac Reuben was perhaps trying to get back into his father’s good graces (35:22  ^ad) by exercising the leadership of the firstborn (cp. 42:22  ^ae). Reuben succeeded in saving Joseph’s life, but he failed to earn his father’s favor (37:29-30  ^af).
37:23  ^ag The recurring motif of changed clothes signifies changes in status, position, and authority (see 37:3  ^ah, 23  ^ai; 38:14  ^aj, 19  ^ak; 39:15-18  ^al; 41:14  ^am, 42  ^an).
Summary for Gen 37:25-28: 37:25-28  ^ao The Ishmaelite traders were descendants of the slave child who was cast out for mocking Isaac. Now they would enslave Joseph. When he was sold for twenty pieces of silver and carried to Egypt, he was at least preserved alive.
37:26  ^ap Judah began to exercise leadership that he would continue to develop as events unfolded (see 43:8-10  ^aq).
37:28  ^ar the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders (literally the Midianite traders): Ishmaelites were descendants of Abraham through Hagar (16:5  ^as), while Midianites were descendants of Abraham through Keturah (25:1-2  ^at). The term Ishmaelite may have described bedouin tribes generally. The Midianites might also have been traveling with a separate caravan of Ishmaelite traders (37:27  ^au).

• Kidnapping (see 40:15  ^av) would become a capital offense (see Exod 21:16  ^aw) in Jewish law.
Summary for Gen 37:29-30: 37:29-30  ^ax When Reuben returned, he tore his clothes in grief. His attempt to restore his relationship with his father by saving Joseph had gone awry.
Summary for Gen 37:31-35: 37:31-35  ^ay The old family propensity for deception seized the brothers’ imagination. Jacob had killed a young goat to deceive Isaac (27:5-17  ^az); now Jacob’s sons deceived him with a goat (see study note on 30:34-36).
37:32  ^ba your son: In their cold hatred, the brothers did not refer to Joseph by name or acknowledge him as their brother (see 21:10  ^bb).
37:33  ^bc recognized: Cp. 27:23  ^bd.
Summary for Gen 37:34-35: 37:34-35  ^be Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap: These were signs of great distress and mourning (see 44:13  ^bf; Job 1:20  ^bg; 16:15  ^bh). Jacob was devastated and refused to be comforted. The treachery thus affected everyone in his family.
37:36  ^bi sold Joseph to Potiphar: Joseph found himself in a place of service that seemed congruent with his rise to authority, yet he still faced more testing.

‏ Genesis 38

Summary for Gen 38:1-30: 38:1-30  ^bj The story of Judah and Tamar is a carefully placed interlude; it reports what was happening in the family of Judah, who would later rise to prominence, and it shows the beginnings of assimilation with the people of the land to help explain why God sent the family to Egypt (chs 39–47  ^bk). The Egyptians were strict separatists (43:32  ^bl); the Israelites would retain their unique identity better in Egypt than in Canaan.
Summary for Gen 38:7-10: 38:7-10  ^bm In this story, the Lord is mentioned as the sovereign judge who took the lives of Judah’s evil sons. 38:7  ^bn That Er was a wicked man is not surprising, since his mother was a Canaanite and his father a wayward Israelite.
38:8  ^bo as our law requires... . You must produce an heir for your brother: The custom that informs this episode is the law for levirate marriage (Latin levir, “husband’s brother”). By this custom, which was later incorporated into God’s law for Israel (Deut 25:5-10  ^bp), if a man died childless, his brother or nearest relative would marry his widow to produce a child who would carry on the family name of the deceased and inherit his property. Apparently, the near kinsman had a right to refuse, but he would be disgraced in the family for refusing to perpetuate his brother’s name.
Summary for Gen 38:9-10: 38:9-10  ^bq Onan married Tamar, but was not willing to provide an heir for his brother. He would have sex with Tamar but not fulfill his responsibility to his dead brother (38:8  ^br).
38:11  ^bs Judah is now presented as the model for his sons’ behavior—he, too, was unfaithful to his levirate responsibility to Tamar as next kinsman (see study note on 38:8). Judah and his sons were far too Canaanite in their ways (see study note on 38:27-30; contrast Boaz, Ruth 3–4  ^bt).
Summary for Gen 38:12-13: 38:12-13  ^bu Without a marriage, the family’s future was in jeopardy.

• Judah’s wife died: This made Judah available to fulfill the responsibility of providing an heir.
Summary for Gen 38:14-19: 38:14-19  ^bv Tamar realized that she would have to take matters into her own hands if the family were to have a future. Tamar acted in keeping with the levirate custom (see study note on 38:8) out of loyalty to her deceased husband. She had a legal right to an heir by Judah’s son or by Judah, so she lured her father-in-law into having sex with her. Jacob’s family was deceived again, this time by a Canaanite daughter-in-law.
38:17  ^bw It would be normal for Tamar to ask for a pledge if the man did not have the money to pay. A woman in such a position would not trust anyone to send the money.
38:18  ^bx identification seal: A stone or metal cylinder was engraved with distinctive designs and was usually worn around the neck on a cord; when rolled onto clay or wax, it left a distinct impression.
Summary for Gen 38:20-23: 38:20-23  ^by Judah had gone in to Tamar as a regular prostitute (Hebrew zonah, 38:15  ^bz), whereas Hirah was mistakenly looking for a shrine prostitute (Hebrew qedeshah), of which there were none.
Summary for Gen 38:24-26: 38:24-26  ^ca Judah played the hypocrite when he condemned Tamar to death for adultery. When she produced the seal and cord and walking stick that identified him as the father, he withdrew the condemnation.
38:26  ^cb She is more righteous than I am: Judah acknowledged that he had shirked his responsibility to provide an heir. It was sinful for Judah to go to a prostitute, but Tamar had a legal right to be the mother of Judah’s child and had acted on that right. In the book of Ruth, the elders analogously blessed the marriage of Boaz and Ruth, praying that God would make Ruth like Tamar (Ruth 4:12  ^cc; cp. Matt 1:3  ^cd, 5  ^ce).
Summary for Gen 38:27-30: 38:27-30  ^cf Judah’s line continued because of Tamar. The twins replaced Judah’s two slain sons (38:7  ^cg, 10  ^ch); their birth was similar to the birth of Jacob and Esau (25:21-26  ^ci) in that the “red” one was born first, but the other son pushed past him in later life. Jacob’s gaining the right to rule over his older brother (27:29  ^cj) seemed to be relived in Judah’s line. The line was carried on through Perez and not through the elder son Shelah, whom he had gone to such lengths to protect (38:11  ^ck; see 1 Chr 4:21  ^cl), nor through the elder twin Zerah (see Ruth 4:13-22  ^cm; Matt 1:3  ^cn).
Summary for Gen 38:29-30: 38:29-30  ^co Perez pushed past his brother, just as Joseph would soon do in relation to his brothers (chs 39–47  ^cp).

‏ Genesis 39

Summary for Gen 39:1-23: 39:1–47:31  ^cq Joseph began as a slave, alienated from his brothers and separated from his father; he ended as Pharaoh’s viceroy. Through the trips to Egypt, the covenant family went from the brink of apostasy, divided by jealousy and deception, to being reconciled and united by Judah’s intercession and Joseph’s forgiveness.
Summary for Gen 39:1-23: 39:1-23  ^cr Joseph’s integrity in Potiphar’s service contrasts with Judah’s moral failure (ch 38  ^cs). God was with Joseph (39:2-3  ^ct, 21  ^cu, 23  ^cv) and enabled him to prosper and be a blessing (see study notes on 12:1-9; 28:16-22) despite his slavery and imprisonment.
39:2  ^cw God is mentioned for the first time (apart from 38:7-10  ^cx) since Jacob built his altar in Bethel (35:1-15  ^cy); his covenant name, “the Lord,” is used for the first time since Jacob left Laban (31:49  ^cz).
39:5  ^da God began to bless Egypt through Joseph (see 22:18  ^db).
Summary for Gen 39:6-10: 39:6-10  ^dc One of the major motifs of wisdom literature (see study note on 37:2–50:26) is to warn young people that immorality will lead them to disaster (cp. Prov 5–7  ^dd). Joseph was able to resist temptation because he had godly wisdom—he was guided by the fear of the Lord (Prov 1:7  ^de; 9:10  ^df).
39:14  ^dg Though Potiphar’s wife was addressing slaves, she appealed to them as fellow Egyptians (us) to enlist them as witnesses against the despised Hebrew (see 43:32  ^dh) who had won Potiphar’s trust.
Summary for Gen 39:19-20: 39:19-20  ^di This was the second time that Joseph, while faithfully doing the right thing, was thrown into bondage with his clothing used deceptively as evidence (cp. 37:23-24  ^dj, 31-33  ^dk).
Summary for Gen 39:21-23: 39:21-23  ^dl Joseph thrived in prison because God was with him. Each time Joseph prospered, he was put in charge of something.

‏ Genesis 40

Summary for Gen 40:1-23: 40:1-23  ^dm Joseph did not lose faith in God’s promises, as evidenced by his readiness to interpret the dreams of two prisoners. He was still convinced that God’s revelation in his own two dreams (37:5-11  ^dn) was true, and he had not abandoned hope that they would be fulfilled. When the fellow prisoners’ dreams were fulfilled exactly as Joseph said, this confirmed that his previous dreams were from God.
Summary for Gen 40:1-4: 40:1-4  ^do Joseph was so faithful and trustworthy that the captain of the guard trusted him with the care of two of Pharaoh’s chief ... officials.
Summary for Gen 40:5-8: 40:5-8  ^dp Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker looked worried because they knew that their futures were somehow bound up in these ominous and disturbing dreams that they could not understand.

• Joseph still had faith that interpreting dreams is God’s business and that he would understand them with God’s help. He knew he had not misinterpreted his own dreams.
Summary for Gen 40:9-19: 40:9-19  ^dq Joseph listened to the dreams and offered their interpretations. These dreams were not trivial; they were ominous warnings from God about what everyone was going to face. These two dreams prepared for Pharaoh’s two dreams, which revealed the periods of life and death that the nation would soon experience.
Summary for Gen 40:14-15: 40:14-15  ^dr Because he knew that the chief cup-bearer was going back into Pharaoh’s personal service, Joseph saw an opportunity to seek his own release from prison.
Summary for Gen 40:20-22: 40:20-22  ^ds The interpretations Joseph gave the prisoners proved true. The death of the chief baker speaks of the harsh realities of life in ancient Egypt, with a king whose word was his land’s highest law.
40:23  ^dt The cup-bearer ... forgot all about Joseph, but God did not forget him. Joseph’s faith was about to be rewarded (ch 41  ^du).

‏ Genesis 41

Summary for Gen 41:1-46: 41:1-46  ^dv God had used two dreams to identify Joseph as a leader among his brothers (37:5-11  ^dw). He used two dreams to test Joseph’s faith in prison (40:5-14  ^dx). Now he would use two dreams to elevate Joseph from prison to preeminence. Joseph had repeatedly proven faithful in small matters; now he would be put in charge of great things.
Summary for Gen 41:1-4: 41:1-4  ^dy Pharaoh’s first dream was about cows. Cows liked to stand half-submerged among the reeds in the Nile River to take refuge from the heat and flies. They would come out of the water to find pasture. The second group of cows disturbed Pharaoh because they were scrawny yet able to swallow the fat cows.
Summary for Gen 41:5-7: 41:5-7  ^dz Pharaoh’s second dream carried a similar message. Seven plump . . . heads of grain on a single stalk were swallowed up by seven shriveled and withered heads that sprouted after them.
41:8  ^ea The magicians and wise men belonged to a guild of supposed experts in spiritual matters, including dreams and visions (cp. Exod 8:18-19  ^eb; Dan 2:10-11  ^ec), but they could not interpret these dreams. God used an Israelite slave to confound the wisdom of the world (cp. Dan 2  ^ed). However powerful a nation becomes, it is still under God’s sovereign control (Dan 2:20-23  ^ee).
Summary for Gen 41:9-13: 41:9-13  ^ef The chief cup-bearer finally remembered Joseph and testified that his interpretations were true.
Summary for Gen 41:14-15: 41:14-15  ^eg Pharaoh immediately summoned Joseph from prison to interpret his dreams.

• He shaved, as was the Egyptian custom.
41:16  ^eh Joseph knew that only God could tell what Pharaoh’s dreams meant (cp. 40:8  ^ei), and he was confident that God would do so, because he had given the dreams for a purpose (41:25  ^ej, 28  ^ek).
Summary for Gen 41:17-24: 41:17-24  ^el Pharaoh recounted his dreams and testified that no human wisdom could interpret them.
Summary for Gen 41:25-32: 41:25-32  ^em Both dreams predicted that seven years of abundant crops would be followed by seven years of severe famine.
41:32  ^en The two similar dreams confirmed that the message was decreed by God and would soon ... happen, just as the dreams of the two prisoners were quickly fulfilled (40:5-23  ^eo). Joseph’s own two dreams (37:5-11  ^ep) were about to come true as well (41:37-46  ^eq; 42:6-9  ^er).
Summary for Gen 41:33-36: 41:33-36  ^es God’s revelation demanded a response—it was not given just to satisfy curiosity about the future. Joseph’s advice about planning and preparing showed that he was the kind of intelligent and wise man that Pharaoh needed (41:37-40  ^et).

• Joseph instituted central planning and control with a supervisor, local managers, a 20 percent tax on grain, and a rationing system. Later wisdom literature (see study note on 37:2–50:26) teaches the principle of planning ahead rather than living just for the moment (see Prov 6:6-8  ^eu; 27:12  ^ev).
Summary for Gen 41:37-40: 41:37-40  ^ew Pharaoh recognized that Joseph was the man for the job; he had the spirit of God and was intelligent and wise. God showed his sovereign rule in Egypt; Israelites who later read the account could be confident that God would save them as he had promised.
Summary for Gen 41:41-46: 41:41-46  ^ex Joseph was made the acting ruler or manager of Egypt.
41:42  ^ey Pharaoh’s signet ring had a seal used for signing documents. The seal was impressed in soft clay, which hardened and left a permanent impression of the ruler’s signature, which carried his authority. Numerous seals of this type have been found in archaeological digs.

• The linen clothing and gold chain signified Joseph’s new status as ruler.
Summary for Gen 41:43-44: 41:43-44  ^ez Pharaoh made Joseph second-in-command; all the people had to submit to him. Cp. Ps 105:16-22  ^fa.
41:45  ^fb As token of Joseph’s new status, Pharaoh gave him an Egyptian name and a wife from a high-ranking family.

• On was a center for sun worship that came to be known as Heliopolis (“sun city”).
41:46  ^fc He was thirty years old: It had been approximately thirteen years since his brothers had sold Joseph into slavery (37:2  ^fd).

• he inspected the entire land of Egypt: As a wise manager, his first priority was to learn the scope of his responsibilities.
Summary for Gen 41:47-57: 41:47-57  ^fe Pharaoh’s dreams were fulfilled in keeping with Joseph’s interpretation.
Summary for Gen 41:50-52: 41:50-52  ^ff In spite of his position and authority, Joseph never abandoned his heritage; he gave Hebrew names to his two sons.

• Manasseh: Joseph’s prosperity and success made him “forget” the misery of separation from his family.

• Ephraim: In so naming him, Joseph proclaimed his gratitude to God for making him “fruitful” in Egypt.
Summary for Gen 41:53-57: 41:53-57  ^fg Joseph’s wisdom paid off, for the seven years of plenty were followed by seven years of severe famine, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food. Joseph had grain to sell to the Egyptians and to people from other countries as well.